How much do you pay attention to trucks order of arrival?

I can see this is a problem for N. American drivers who are paid by the mile, a practice long made illegal in the UK at least, and thus are not getting paid to hang around waiting. But when you are paid by the hour it makes no difference other than if you have a timed booking for your next collection or were banking on getting back home that day before your hours run out.

 

If you have a time booked ahead for 7:00 and you're still sitting there at 11:00 then yes, that is reason to be upset.
I'm just pointing out, how it is very common for drivers to decide to arrive very early, and be shocked they aren't taken first despite having a time later in the day.

 

If picking up or delivering at a union warehouse, you also will notice when a union driven truck arrives, they most always go to the head of the line, before all the "scab" non-union trucks.

 

Blimey, back in the last century when most places in the UK were union closed shops, you wouldn't get unloaded at all if you weren't in the union. That all came to an end with the miners' strike of '84 and Maggie Thatcher. Not sure because I don't live there anymore, but I doubt there are many union drivers there these days.
When I came here to live and work in France, there were 2 unions and 2 reps in the company I worked for. Both of them were really helpful with advice from time to time but not once in all the time I drove there, did either of them pressure me into joining a union. Never was asked for a card or refused unloading in all the countries I drove to. France, of course, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and England.

 

One of the lumber mills we haul out of has a couple of shuttle trucks that haul across town to an export yard. They might make six or eight loads a day. When they come into the mill they go to the head of the line.
You should hear the screaming and yelling...in several languages. Too bad.
There are signs posted...'Shuttle trucks have loading priority' but they're only in English. If they started posting in every language that represents the drivers involved we'd need a lot more signs.

 

Me personally, I don't care. When I was less experienced, I thought more like you. That was due to my ignorance of how things actually worked. If you get delayed, sometimes it's a poorly planned load. Your dispatcher put you on a load that you couldn't make on time so that set you back. Sometimes the product you're picking up isn't ready for one reason or another. Sometimes they're shorthanded. If they call you to get loaded, it ain't your problem if you get loaded ahead of someone else. Just bump the dock, and keep it moving. Trucking is kind of cutthroat at times. Also, if a shipper gives you some attitude when you ask about the delay, do not, under any circumstances give it back to them. They have the power to make your life hell and delay you even worse. If I'm curious about a delay, I always begin my conversation with, "I mean no harm" or "This isn't coming from me, my company just asked me to check on the status of my load." Sometimes the latter is the truth. The company really wanted to know lol. It's always good to converse and not confront, even if they give you ####. I just come in there with the attitude, " I come in peace." Lol.

It's just the nature of the beast man. Sometimes trucks come in after you and get loaded before you. If it's a Walmart load, more often than not, those will get loaded first, because of the powerhouse that Walmart is. It depends a lot on how important the load is, as alluded to earlier. I just take it in stride.

 

Don't ever talk to a shipper like that. Be a professional. That sounds too entitled and whiny.